Presiding over the felicitation ceremony, Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of India, lauded the role of NALSAR universities of law in upgrading legal education in India. He especially mentioned the contribution of Prof. Menon to judicial reforms and the high quality of legal education. He also praised Prof. Faizan Mustafa for taking certain initiative at the Hyderabad campus of NALSAR University. Referring to the Jamia Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Talat Ahmad, he said that the Jamia was home to some outstanding young teachers and students. He observed that during his visit to the Jamia last year, he came across several teachers and students who were highly talented. He congratulated the IOS for the remarkable work in the field of publications and discussions, seminars and conferences it had been organising on topical issues.

Responding to the honour bestowed on him, Dr. Faizan Mustafa noted that his felicitation was too big for him. He saluted the Institute and its Chairman for taking the initiative of promoting research in social sciences and humanities since the last 30 years. Acknowledging the guidance he received from Chairman of the IOS, Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, he said that the former had been his mentor throughout. Outlining the task that lay ahead in the framework of legal education, he said that it would now move from legal studies to law universities. It was a matter of pride that the team of Indian law students could have an edge over any team of law students anywhere in the world, including the Yale Law School. He laid emphasis on the need for a full-fledged institution of law and humanities.

Dr. Talat Ahmad noted that the recognition given to him by the IOS was encouraging. He appreciated the IOS contributions which makes things more relevant, particularly in terms of education and knowledge. He said that he was trained as a geologist and worked on the Himalayan geology. But the real feeling of satisfaction came to him only after he became a teacher. Tracing his rural background in Jharkhand, he said that children in government schools got a rare chance to receive proper education. He informed that he was planning to do something in that direction in Jamia Millia by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to education. He expressed the confidence that the JMI would certainly take a lead in this regard. Referring to the recent quake that devastated large swathes of Nepal on April 25 last, he said that he had undertaken a tour of Kedarnath in the wake of an earthquake and landslides early last year to study the causes and the extent of damage. He informed that the efforts were on to make the people understand the activities that were taking place on our planet. Students should be particularly trained to recognise the vagaries of nature, he added.

Prof. NR Madhava Menon held that the honour came to him unexpectedly. He said that he knew the IOS since its inception in 1986 through the noted jurist and expert on Muslim law, Prof. Dr. Tahir Mahmood and that he got an opportunity to attend some of its programmes at that time.

Recalling his days in the Aligarh Muslim University, he said that as a gold medalist, he sought admission to LLM and it was the AMU that made him a brilliant student. As the first Ph.D. in law, he served the AMU in various capacities. Expressing his indebtedness to the AMU, he claimed that perhaps he was the first teacher ever to be appointed as professor after seven years of service as a teacher in the university. He was the first non-Muslim to be made warden of a hostel and the captain of the riding club. He said that he had written a book on the magic of AMU that transformed him. He informed that he was on the board of the AMU campus in Kerala and hoped that it would start functioning very soon. While praising the IOS for rendering yeoman’s service in the area of research, analysis and publication, he emphasised the need for its coordination with the universities and other institutions of higher learning. Commenting on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, he said that if the equal opportunity commission as recommend by the Committee was formalised, the minorities, especially Muslims, would benefit the most. He held that the previous government had promised in its election manifesto that it would appoint the commission, but nothing happened even after five years of its rule. He said that he was on the advisory committee to prepare a blue print for Equal Opportunity Commission and urged the IOS to press for the setting up of the commission.

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, Chairman, IOS sharing his views

The Chairman of IOS, Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam in his speech highlighted the activities of the institute over 30 years of its existence. He said that so far, the institute had organised about 1100 seminars, symposia, discussions and conferences on various issues that related to society in general and the Muslims in particular. Out of these, about 100 seminars were devoted to the law and the Constitution. Similarly, out of 400 books published by the Institute, 50 of them were related to law and justice. Besides, he said, the Institute had five chapters in different parts of the country. The IOS had also set up 23 academic committees. Referring to his visit to Istanbul (Turkey) in connection with a 2-day international seminar last week, he said that the study of translation as a subject came up for discussion. He urged the Vice-Chancellors to create a faculty of translation in their universities, adding that we needed translation for interacting with the outer world. Terming the felicitation ceremony as a milestone in the annals of the IOS, he called for coming together of minds to create a humane society with high values.

Earlier, all the three personalities were presented mementoes with a citation by Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur. While the advocate-on-record, the Supreme Court of India, Mushtaq Ahmed introduced the recipients of the honour, the Associate Prof. of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dr. Eqbal Hussain conducted the proceedings. The function began with recitation of a Quranic verse by Hafiz Athar Husain Nadwi.

A view of audience

Those who attended the programme included Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi, President of India Islamic Cultural Centre, eminent lawyers, mediapersons, teachers, research scholars of Jamia Millia Islamia, besides social activists and prominent citizens.

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